From the Chair 05

9th September 2014 (10th September 2014)

ENCOURAGING START BUT NO POINTS

Macclesfield Blues kicked off the season at home to the famous Richmond Club and had a dream start when Josh Fowles touched down just 3 minutes into his first game for the club since the 2012-13 season. However, the loss of big Dean Williams after 20 minutes, together with some familiar and experienced forwards out of contention with injuries (Tom Mantel, Bill Robinson, Dave Marwick and Jonny Kenny) meant the Macc pack were always on the back foot against a solid, street wise Richmond 8.

If points were given for effort, then Macc would have had loads, however, their only reward were 3 fantastic team tries (2 scored by Josh Fowles on his return to Macc after a spell at Longton, and 1 by Captain Mike Finnemore) all created by some wonderful interplay between backs and forwards. If this style of play continues, then the Priory Park faithful will be in for an exciting season, so come on down and see the new revolution for yourselves. Indeed, after the match the back play was highly praised by the Richmond President, former England centre, Nick Preston.

The Claphams Landscapes Man of the Match award went to no.8 Frankie Barker returning to the side after a serious knee injury sustained at Stourbridge back in early November.

Around Priory Park last Saturday;

The Blues hosted Richmond at home and lost 22 – 35, the Lions and 3′s were also at home with the Lions beating Fylde 2′s 28 – 17 and the 3′s had a convincing win against Northwich 2′s 24 – 0. The 4′s travelled to Crewe & Nantwich and lost 15 – 10. Sunday saw the Colts win away at Kirby Lonsdale by 12-0

This week`s fixtures for Macc teams are as follows;

Blues v Fylde – Home 3.00 pm KO

Lions v Vale of Lune – Away 3.00 pm KO

3′s v Burnage – Away 3.00 pm KO

4′s v – Northwich – Home 3.00pm KO

Pre-Match lunch – Saturday 13th September 2013

We would like to invite you to take a place or table at the pre-match lunch when we hope to enjoy a happy and successful day.

Menu:

Beef & Vegetable Soup, Bread Rolls & Butter

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Chicken Chasseur, Roast and Mashed Potato, Roasted Root Vegetables

Please be seated by 12.45pm

The cost will be £18 for members, £23 for non-members i, Season Ticket holders £13 & Concessions £21. Vegetarian food can be provided on request at the time of booking.

If you wish to attend please return the booking slip click here ASAP as it is on a first come first served basis.

The Junior Football Section

The football section began the season with 3 wins and 3 losses. The U10 Lions, U12 Predators and U13 Raiders all won convincingly, but the U9 Blues, U9 Rhinos and U11 Vipers lost tough games against traditionally strong clubs.

NEW SPONSORS

As you are probably aware, we as a club, rely on local businesses supporting us by advertising or sponsorship and therefore, I`m pleased to announce this season sees the addition of Red Rose Packaging to the list of valuable club sponsors.

Katie Whitehead, Sales Director at Red Rose has been a member of the club for the last couple of years……. “Red Rose Packaging will be proudly sponsoring Macclesfield RUFC this season. As a family we love watching the rugby at Priory Park – it’s great rugby and a fantastic club! We wish all the teams good luck for this season”.

A big THANK YOU to Katie and the staff at Red Rose Packaging http://www.redrosepackaging.com/

THE COMING SEASON

Richmond, Fylde, Rosslyn Park, Blackheath, Coventry – the names are synonymous with the elite of English Rugby and evoke memories of Andy Ripley, Chris Rawlston, David Duckham to name a few. These are the clubs Macclesfield will be welcoming to Priory Park this season and for just the price of a pint of beer, you can come and watch The Blues take on these giants of our game.

Season tickets are now on sale at the bargain price of just £50 for all 15 games! Make sure you take advantage of purchasing your season ticket NOW and ensure you get the full value for all 15 games. Please contact Bev in the office to ensure you don`t miss out on this great deal bev@maccrugby.co.uk

MEMBERSHIP

Memberships fees are due, so please help your club and ensure prompt payment. We are again offering a complimentary season ticket to all Senior Playing Members who pay by October 31st 2014.

Mini/Junior and Football members receive 2 complimentary match day tickets if paid by October 31st.

MACMILLAN NURSES CAN YOU HELP !!

I was wondering whether you might be able to help me? We’re looking to recruit some volunteers to help us collect at Tesco in October and so I wondered whether the team at Macclesfield RUFC might be able to spare some time? Any support would be very much appreciated!

We have a resource centre at Macclesfield Hospital which provides information, support and advice to anyone who is living with cancer, and their friends and families. It was one of the first Macmillan Centres in the country to be home to Chemotherapy suite, Oncology outpatient clinics, Oncology Research and Information and Support – all under one roof.

We believe that no-one should face cancer alone, and with your help we will continue in our aim of reaching all 2million who are living with cancer today.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks, Louisa Walmsley, Fundraising Manager, Cheshire

Please feel free to e mail any news, items etc. related to the Rugby Club (to; media@maccrugby.co.uk) and if appropriate, I`ll be happy to add to this column.